Vacuum cleaner



Feb. 26, 1935. w ALLEN 1,992,731

VACUUM CLEANER I Filed May 27, 1932 Patented Feb. 26, 1935 PATENT. OFFICE 1,992,731 VACUUM CLEANER George W. Allen, Boston, Mass, assignor to B. F.

Sturtevant Company, Hyde Park, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 27, 1932, Serial No. 613,894

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly to means for guiding and controlling the operation of the cleaners of the domestic traveling type.

It is customary to provide a motor operated vacuum cleaner or other equivalent appliance which is propelled and guided by the operator when in use, with a light tubular handle having a convenient hand grip, and to mount suitable electrical control switches and other fixtures on or in the handle. In a common type of cleaner the switch has been positioned at the rear or under side of the handle so that it may be operated by the digit finger in the -manner of a trigger, but so arranged it is entirely obscured when the handle is tilted'rearwardly and downwardly in use, and its position is not readily determined by the operator.

Moreover, for certain types of work it is very desirable to vary the speed of the motor and thus the. suction developed, and-the practice has been to provide additional or supplemental electrical switches for such speed control. Such a multiplicity of switches and controls at difierent places onthe handle, and more or less obscured when thefcleaner is in use, has tended to confuse the average housewife or maid who ordinarily operates such appliances, and prevents or at least interferes with the convenient and easy manipulation and control thereof. Furthermore, the additional switch or control 1 with its independent fastening devices detracts from the otherwise clean and attractive appearance of the apparatus and particularly of the handle portion thereof.

The principal object'of the present invention is to provide a strong and light weight handle for an electrical appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner, having simple, visible control devices within convenient reach of the operators guiding hand, for starting and stopping or varying the speed of the motor without relinquishing his grasp on the hand grip. V I

A further object is to provide an attractively simple, eflicient, and inexpensive manner of mounting such control devices and other attachments upon the guiding and propelling handle.

. With these objects in view, the present invention contemplates the provision in a tubular vacuum cleaner handle having a rearwardly bent hand grip, of a switch arranged with motor control contacts within the handle, and an operating member extending from the front'of the handle adjacent and just below the hand grip for actuating the contacts to change the motor connections. According to the present; invention the operating member may be shifted to one of a plurality of positions. to vary the motor speed at will, or to disconnect the motor connections entirely from .the source of supply current; The

switch at the front of the handle may convenientthe fingers still grasp and hold the handle at the grip.

In the present embodiment of the invention the operating member may be easily shifted from any of the various positions while'remaining at all times in full and unobstructed view of the operator. The central position may correspond to the off-position of the motor, while the two extreme positions may cause the motor to be connected for either of two ranges of speed.

- The motor control switch is positioned on the front of the handle so that its lower portion overlaps the upper part of another handle attachment, in the illustrated embodiment the lead-in and bag hook members, and a common securing device, such as a screw and, nut, secures both switch and member to the handle in a simple, at-

tractive, and efficient manner.

These and other features of the invention, including certain novel and improved constructions and arrangements of parts are hereinafter described in the following detailed specification and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the upper portion of a vacuum cleaner handle embodying the features of the. invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view' illustrating the arrangement of parts within the handle shown in Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a detail view showing in rear elevation the motor control switch Sand its construction and arrangement of terminal connections.

The drawing shows the invention as embodied in a vacuum cleaner handle consisting of a hollow metal tube 10 having comparatively thin,

light side walls, and an upper rearwardly bent hand grip portion 12. The lower part of the handle is. of substantially uniform cross-section, and has an extremity'suitably formed to fit the connection to the motor casing (not shown) of the cleaner, and arranged to permit passage of electrical connections to the motor windings. These electrical connections may include ordiwhich the wire 18 is the common current supply wire, and the wires 14 and 16 alternative returnwires for changing the speed of the motor by varying the field windings in a well-known manner. I

Current is supplied to the handlethrough anew fixture wires, indicated at 14, 16 and 18, of p my'co-pending application Serial No. 551,445, filed July 1'7, 1931, for Lead-in device. encased in the inner end of the The cable 22 tubing 24 passes through an opening 25' in tire handle and includes no the down-turned wire 18 leading to the motor and the up-turned wire 26 connected to the control switch. All of the wires contained within the handle are insulated, and as a further protection against contact with the inner surface of the metal handle, a fibre tubing 28 is provided extending substantially throughout the entire length of the interior of the handle.

The motor control switch, indicated at 30, is located just below the bend of the hand grip and at the front side of the handle, being sufilciently close to the hand grip to permit the thumb of the operator to readily manipulate the switch while the fingers retain their grasp on the grip and control of the cleaner. The cord plate and the flexible tube 24 for the lead-in connections are located below the switch 30 at the rear side of the handle so as not to interfere with the fingers as they grip the handle. The switch is operated by movement of a member or knob 32 projecting through a longitudinally arranged semi-circular slot 34 formed in a face plate 36 secured to the handle.

The switch is inserted within the handle through an opening 38, and is secured at its upper end by a screw 40 which passes through the face plate 36, an extension or lug on the frame of the switch, and a threaded opening in the handle. The openings and 38 are spaced apart longi tudinally of the handle, the opening 38 for the switch being located just below the hand grip 12 of the handle. The openings are sufficiently close together, however, so that the lower portion of the switch plate overlaps the upper portion of r the lead-in plate 20, and both plates are secured to the handle by a screw or bolt 42 similarly passing through the face plate 36, a portion of the switch frame, andthe front wall of the handle. An internally threaded tubular nut 43 passes from the rear through the upper end of the lead-in plate 20 and the back wall of the handle and is engaged by the screw or bolt 42 to clamp the parts securely together. To prevent the nut from turn:- ing when the screw is tightened, the under side of the head of the nut is provided with a projection or key 44 to enter a corresponding recess or notch in the lead-in plate.

The lead-in plate is secured at its lower end to I the handle in any convenient manner, as by the oil-set finger or clip 45, passing through openings in the handle and insulated sleeve. In assembling this clip will first be positioned in the openings and then the upper portion of the plate secured by means of the screw and nut.

According to an important feature of the present invention, instead of employing separate switches for varying the speed and stopping the motor, the switch is adapted to be shifted to three positions and is provided with a plurality ofv electrical contacts which not only act to connect and disconnect the motor from the source of supply current, but also to change the circuit through the alternative speed connections of the motor according to the movement of a switch operating knob 32. A suitable three position mechanical snap device 46 of well known construction is contained within a frame 47 for the switch and a main insulation body 48 is riveted or otherwise secured to the switch frame. As illustrated, movement of the operating knob 32 causes a snap I action of a movable contact 49 toward or from a neutral position, indicated in Fig. 2, to either of two extreme positions in which it may cooperate with pairs of contacts 50 and 51 or 52 and 54. The contacts 50, 52 on one side of the switch are formed of an integral strip and connected by a binding screw 56 to the current supply connec-- tion 26. The contacts 51 and 54 are connected by binding screws 58 and 60 to variable speed connections 14 and 16, respectively, leading to the motor. By this construction, the operating member 32 is at all times clearly visible, so that the position of the movable contact 47 may readily be ascertained while still being under direct and immediate control of the operator without shifting his grasp on the hand grip during manipulation of the cleaner.

In order to insulate the bolt 42 from accidental contact with the electrical conducting wires within the handle, a section of insulating sleeve 70 is applied to the portion of the bolt 42 adiacent the front wall of the handle. portion of the bolt including the threaded sleeve 43, is protected between two tongues 72 extending from and forming a part of the main insulating body 48 of the switch. These tongues separate the wires extending from the switch contacts, and prevent their engagement with the bare metallic parts of the bolt.

Substantially all of the exposed metallic parts in proximity to the wiring connections are thus protected, the fibre tubing 28 being securely held in place by reason of the various fastening devices passing therethrough. The parts thus arranged may be easily assembled or disassembled while making repairs, and not only is effective insulation provided, but the tongues '72 extending from the switch together with the bolt 42 provide means for rigidly supporting the switch against lateral strains and for strengthening the handle against torsional strains.

The above described construction provides a simple, efficient, and attractive manner of securing the switch, its cover plate, and the lead-in plate with its dust bag supporting hook 74 all by the use of only two screws and an integrally formed clip and necessitating the boring or punching of only three holes in the handle.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a particular form of construction with a three contact switch and lead-in and dust bag hook device, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to such particular parts and attachments except where so specified in the appended claim, but in its broader aspects may be embodied in other constructions, with other types and kinds of attachments.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In a vacuum cleaner, the combination with a hollow tubular handle having an opening therein, q! an electrical fixture extending through the opening and having insulating side plates with end extensions, motor connections in the handle attached to the fixture, a fixture plate for cover- GEORGE W. ALLEN.

The remaining 2o, 

